Hermetic closure for receptacles.



PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. J. S. GILES. HERMETIG CLOSURE FOR REGEPTAGLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1907.

Wj T1 95,5 95 WMWL JOHN S'. GILES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS HERMETIC CLOSUREFOR RECEPTACLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Application filed June 21. 1907- Serial No. 380.088.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN S. GEES, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hermetic Olo sures for Receptacles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

v ThlS invention relates to improvements in closures for the hermeticsealing of jars and receptacles of the class having a supportingshouldered flange below the upper edge of the jar or receptacle, onwhich shouldered flan e the sealin gasket abuts and rests.

T e closure 0 the present invention pertains to the class termed orknown as wedging closures in which the gasket is compressed by theapplication of a cover, in such manner as to force the gasket againstthe shouldered flange of the jar or receptacle and the exterior face ofthe jar or receptacle above the shouldered flang The practice heretoforehas been to employ a gasket circular in cross section in one form, or toemploy a gasket square in cross section, or to employ a gasket of arhomboid shape in cross section with parallel oblique edges and planesides.

.The gaskets of the various types heretofore employed, irrespective oftheir form in cross section, have been applied to the jar or receptacleand supported, prior to the sealing of the jar or receptacle,-above theshouldered fiange and encircling the exterior of the jar, or receptacle,and in completing the sealing by forcing down the cover the gasket,

no matter in what form as heretofore used,

' must be deflected from its original shape more or less, and it hasbeen found in the use of the old styles of gaskets that a portionthereof is forced down between the inner face'iof the flange of ,thecover and the edge face, of the flange onthe jar or receptacle.

and this without in anyway perfecting the seal, butre. uiring anadditional force to be .'applied to t e cover in sealing the jar orreceptacle.

The best sealing result is attained by comfpressing the gasket closelyand tightly into the corner at the juncture of the exterior face of thejar or receptacle and the upper face of the flanged shoulder, but as amatter f of fact, with the old types of sealing gaskets the forcing downof the cover to perfect the seal, instead of compressing the gasket intothe corner, fails to so compress the gasket, with the result that moreor less leakage has been found to occur between the cover and the jarand around the gasket, owing to im perfections in the contact faces forthe gasketwith the jar or receptacle, and to the fact that the gasket isnot uniformly compressed so as to make a close, tight joint against ileakage between the cover and the jar or-receptacle. 4

The primary object of the present invention is to make a closure gasketof a triangular shape in cross section that will allow of H the easyplacing and forcing down of the cover, and have the cover, as it isforced to place, compress the gasket so as to forcethe; corner thereofinto the corner between the, upper face of the shouldered flange and"the-v r exterior face of the jar. or rece 'tacle formly at all points,and thereby prevent leakage between the cover and the -jar or re-iceptacle; to combine the closure gasket ofth'ei; present invention of atriangular-shapepini cross section With a cover and a jar or recep taclehaving a shouldered flan eadjacent -t its upper end, so that theapplication of the. cover to the jar or receptacle. willforce the, Itriangular shaped gasket into a sealing posi-f tion; and to improvegenerally the sea ,of 3 a jar or receptacle by the application of the)ff cover thereto throu h the medium of a gasket having a triangu arshape in crosssectron. I

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationsof parts herea inafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a shouldered jar orreceptacle, having the gasket of the present invention applied thereto,and without the cover; Fig. 2 a, similar view to Fig. 1, with the coverin place Fig. 3 a detail enlarged, showing the shouldered upper end of ajar or receptacle, with the gasket of the present invention and withoutthe cover; and Fig. 4 a similar view to Fig. 3, with the cover in place.

The gasket of the present invention is made of rubber or other suitablecompressible and yieldable material, and is of a triangular form incross sectionhaving a stra' ht 1 lane inner face 1, a straight planelower e ge 5 face 2, and an inclined or oblique outer face 3, so as tofurnishv a right angle corner. 4, at the juncture of the side face 1 andlower edge face 2; and an acute angle corner 5, at the juncture of theside face 1 and oblique face 3-" at the top; and an acute angle corner6, at the juncture of the lower plane face 2 and the oblique face 3 atthe bottom.

The jar or receptacle is of a form'to have a -50orrimof neck or 7alfllle' top, an outer straight or plane face 8 extendin down to aflangp 9, having a shoulder 10 wit a flat face on t e upper side of theflange, and an ob- 5 lique outer face 11, extendin to the under as theshape was one to be force onto the" top of the jar or receptacle andcompress the gasket or packing ring, as hereinafter-described.

In use, the gasket or packing ring of the present invention is placed inposition for lts straight plane face 1 to contact or lie agalnst theexterlor plane face 8 of the rim or neck of the jar or receptacle, andfor its lower straight plane edge 2 to lie against or abut the straightplane face of the upper shoulder 10 of the flange 9 of the jar orreceptacle; as shown 1n Figs. 1 and 2. The jar or rece taclefilled withthe material, and when filed the cover is placed loosely on top of thejar or receptacle and the jar or receptacle, with the cover looselyplaced thereon, is inserted in a-vacuum chamber and the air exhaustedfrom the jar or receptacle in the usual manner, and afterthe air hasbeen exhausted the cover is forced to place, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4,completing'the closing and sealing of the j ar or receptacle. 1

The forcing of the cover .onto the "top of the jar or receptacle "brings*the curved sec- 40 tion or portion 16 of the depending flange of thecover with its inner face bearing against the oblique outer face .3 ofthe triangular shaped gasket of the present invention, and the pressureof the inner face of the section or ortion 16 of the cover against theouter ob 'que face of the gasket, forces the gasket downwardly andinwardly pressing the corner 4 tightly into and a ainst the cornerjoining the straight plane face 8 of the neck the jar or receptacle andthe straight plane face of the shoulder 10 of the flange, and at thesame time forcing the straight plane face 1 tightly against the straightplane face 8 of the neck or rim of the jar or receptacle and compressingthe corner .5, at the point of departure of the curved section orportion 16 of the flange or rim of the cover from the straight planeportion 15 of the depending flange of the cover, and also forcing thestraight plane face '2 of the gasket tightly against the straight planeface of the shoulder 10 of the flange 9 of the jar or receptacle. Thecompression of the gasket, by the depending flange of the cover, isdownwardly and inwardly, forcing. the corner 4 tightly and closely intothe corner between the exterior faceof the neck or rim and the upperface of the flange of the jar or receptacle, at

which point, in order to obtain a perfect seal for'the jar orreceptacle, the gasket should fit the corner so as to make a tight andclose joint against leakage that would destroy the vacuum in the jar orreceptacle. The impact or impingement of the edge 2 of the gasket orsealing ring against the face of the shoulder 10 and the impact orimpingement of the face 1 of the gasket or sealing ring against the face8 of the neck or rim of the jar or receptacle, and theimpact orimpingement of the inner face of the section or portion 16 of thedepending flange against the oblique face 3 of the gasket or sealingring, in connection with the forcing of the corner 4 into the cornerbetween the face 8 of the neck or rim and the shoulder 10 of the flangeof the jar or receptacle, insures a seal for the cover and the jar orreceptacle which will be uniform and perfect and which will preventleakage or breaking of the seal, with the ordinary and usual handling ofthe filled jar or receptacle.

The shape of the triangular gasket or sealing ring in cross section isone in which the oblique outer face furnishes a bearing face for theinner 'face of the depending flange, and is of a form that will offerbut little resistance to the setting of the cover down into sealingposition, as, in forcing the cover down, the inner face of the flangewill press against the oblique face of the gasket or sealing ring in adownwardly inward direction, forcing the sealing corner 4 and thesealing faces 1 and 2 of-the gasket or ring down- Ward and inward, andat the same time the corner 6 is not required to be forced over theouter corner of the shoulder 10 and the flange 9 in making andperfecting the seal, and when the cover is in place a space 17 willremain between the upper edge of the neck or rim of the jar orreceptacle and the top plate 14 of the cover as usual.

The asket or sealing ring, by reason of its triangu ar shape in crosssection enables a uniform and perfect compression thereof to be obtainedby forcing down the cap or cover of the jar or receptacle, .and suchcompression is transmitted downwardly and inwardly so as to effect atight sealing and closure of the jar or receptacle.

The closure gaskets of the various types heretofore used, when in place.on the jar and forced to place by the cover, owing to their resiliency,furnish an unequal bearing, so that, with the best care possibleinplacing and forcing the cover down, more or less shifting of the coveroccurs, which results in an unequal pressure against the gasket, makingit impossible to form a perfect seal between the cover and the jar; andagain,

- owing to the formation of the old types of gaskets, in ordertoovercome the resiliency rhomboidal shaped gasket,- such as heretoof thegasket and the natural tendency thereof to assume its original formationin cross Section, great force must be used in applying the cover, andeven with a force sufficient to overcome the resistance of the gasket itis impossible, in all cases, to so compress the gasket as to force itscontact faces in close impingement against the companion faces of thecover and the rim and flange of the jar, so as to make an air tightjoint at every point between the cover and the jar by the gasket.

The contour of a round, rectangular or fore used, presents a surfacewhich must be compressed closely in order to have a full contact ofsurfaces between the cover and the gasket and between the gasket and therim and flange of the 'ar, and unless the force applied to the cover 1ssufficient to compress the gasket so as to conform exactly to thesurfaces of the cover and the rim or neck of the jar and the flange, animperfect closure will follow. These objections, which have been foundby actual practice in the use of the old types of gasket, are entirelyovercome with the triangular sha ed gasket of the present invention,whic furnishes a straight plane face to coact with the straight planeface of the rim, and a straight plane bottom face to coact with thestraight plane face "of the shoulder of the flan e, and an oblique orinclined face to coact w1th the outwardly turned or flared portion ofthe cover, with the result that, in forcing the cover to place, the flane of the cover impinges directly against t e oblique face of the gasketand transmits a force inwardlyrand downwardly, by which the plane facesof the as ket will be brought closely against the p ane faces of the rimand flange of the jar, and this without the requirement of any greatforce in placing the cover in position, as the oblique face of thegasket presents a surface over and against which the outwardly flaredportion of the flange will readily pass, and in passing ap ly thenecessary pressure to force and hold t e gasket in place, making a tightclosure between the cover and the jar.

' The closures to which the foregoing considerations a ply are usedsolely for packing. food and ot er products under a vacuum. Atmosphericpressure alone is relied upon to hold the cover on and maintain ahermetic seal after vacuum is obtained. To make this satisfactory andcommercially successful, not only must there be the highest possiblevacuum, but the shape, application and direction of the cover must besuch as to aid and increase the force of the air pressure at the sealingpoint. Hence the cover is constructed so that it bears on the gasketwith a wedging force. The contrivance here aimed at is to have thecontact faces at the sealing point conform in the jar, gasket and cover,so as to save the waste of pressure in forcing a conformity in thecontact faces of the gasket to make the seal, and thus save an importantpercentage of leakers.

What i claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a receptacle having a rim or neck and a flangeat the upper end, and a cap having a flaring depending flange, of agasket triangular shaped in cross section, furnishing a lower rightangle corner, a lower acute angle corner, and an upper acute anglecorner, and presenting inner, lower, and outer contact faces conformingto and co-acting with the contact faces of the neck and flange of thereceptacle and the flange of the'cap, with the lower right an le cornerentering into the corner joining t e neck and flange of the receptacle,substantially as described;

2. A closure for hermetically sealed receptacles, comprising a gaskethaving a triangular shape in cross section and furnishing a straightplain inner face, a straight plane lower face, and an oblique outerface, and a cap having a dependin flange with an inner seatin faceengagin t e inclined or oblique outer ace of the as et and forcing thegasket as a whole (ownwardly and inwardly, substantially as described.

3. A closure for hermetically sealed receptacles, comprising agaskethaving a triangular shape in cross section and furnishing a straightplain inner face,' a straight plane lower face and an oblique outerface, and a cap having a dependin flange with a straight section and anoutwar ly curved section, the outwardly curved section furnishing abearing face against the obli ue outer face of thegasket for forcing thegas et as awhole downwardly scribed.

Witnesses:

OSCAR W. BOND, WALKER BANNING.

and inwardly, substantially as de- JOHN s. GILES.

